Tender documents submitted for new south Wicklow school building project

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

The Department of Education is currently reviewing tender documents for a major new build at Kilbride, which will combine Arklow’s Gaelcholáiste na Mara and Gaelscoil an Inbhir Mhóir.

The plans for Gaelscoil an Inbhir Mhóir – which was established in 1998 and operates, for the most part, out of a series of prefabs – comprises a two-storey, 16-classroom primary school building, with two special needs rooms and ancillary spaces capable of accommodating more than 480 pupils.

Plans for Gaelcholáiste na Mara include a three-storey school building with two special needs rooms and a PE hall aimed at accommodating more than 400 students.

The two schools first came together in 2017, when initial discussions began between the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB), Wicklow County Council and the Department of Education. By August 2022 funding had been secured, a co-sharing campus site was earmarked in Kilbride and planning permission was granted.

The project was then placed on hold in 2023 when the Department of Education announced funding pressures had forced them to hit the “pause” button on 58 school building projects around Ireland.

Documents from the Department of Education recently obtained by Wicklow Wexford Fianna Fáil TD Malcom Byrne show the stage 3 tender report has been submitted to the Department and is currently under review. Once this report is reviewed and approved, the project will then progress to the construction phase in due course.

The project was authorised by the Department to proceed to the tender stage in November 2024, however the documents state “it is not possible at this time to give a date for completion of the project. In the meantime, KWETB will continue to engage directly with the school authority to keep it fully informed of all progress.”

The Department also reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that all appropriate accommodation is available for the pupils in Gaelscoil an Inbhir Mhóir.